Process and apparatus for the instantaneous tannage of hides and skins



F. GILARDINL. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE l-NSTANTANEOUS TANNAGE 0F HIDES AND SKINS.

APPLICATION FILED APR, 6. 1918- RENEWED NOV- 17. I920.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- F. GlLARDlNl.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE LNSTANTANEOUS TANNAGEOF HIDES AND SKINS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6. 191a. RENEWED NOV. 11.1920.

1,363,771 Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

O Q 9 N4 JLI F. GILARDINI.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE INSTANTANEOUS TANNAGE 0F HIDES AND SKINS. APPLICATKON FILED APR. 6, I918. RENEWED NOV. 11. 1920.

1,363,771. Patented Dec. 28,1920.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3'.

Fig, 63 F r" I UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

FELICE GILARDINI, O1 TUlRIN, ITALY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE INSTANTANEOUS TANNAGE OF HIDFS SKINS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

Application filed April 6, 1918. Serial No. 227,050. Renewed November 17, 1920. Serial No. 424,766.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FELICE GILARDINI, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at and whose post-office address is 5, via Giannone, Turin, in the Kingdom of Italy, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes and Apparatus for the Instantaneous Tannage of Hides and Skins; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

. such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object a process for the instantaneous tannage of hides and skins, which consists chiefly in causing the tan liquor under pressure to come into contact with both sides of the hide or skin under treatment, or in causing the said liquor to come into contact with one side only of the skin under treatment, while a vacuum is produced simultaneously on the other side. This invention consists moreover in an apparatus for effecting the said process in a few minutes and in an easy and continuous way.

This invention is shown by way of example in the annexed drawing.

Figure 1 is a side view of the whole of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line AA of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents, on a larger scale, a partial vertical section of the machine.

Fig. 4 shows, also on a larger scale, a partial plan view of the lower stationary plates of the machine.

Fig. 5 is a plan of one of the frames on which the hides to be treated are stretched.

Figs. 6 and 7 are two partial vertical sections of modified forms shown on a larger scale.

Fig. 8 is a detailed View of the automatic closing device of Fig. 7.

This process may be effected, as above said, by causing the tan liquor under pressure to come into contact with both sides of the hide or skin under treatment, and for this purpose I may use a tight'closing receptacle or container of any suitable shape having sufficiently strong walls, in which are placed the hides or skins to be treated.

In this container. (that may be stationary or oscillating or rotating) the tan liquor 1S conveyed and maintained under pressure and produces therefore the tannage of the hide in a much shorter time than by usin the processes known heretofore, in which the tan l1quor acts under the'normal pressure, as it penetrates the holes of the hides or skins to be treated and traverses them through" their entire thickness in a much easier and quicker way.

In order to further accelerate the opera- AND tion, I designed the machine, shown in the annexed drawing, which constitutes an important part of this invention. The principle on which said machine is based, consists in causing the hides to be treated to pass successively between pairs of plates divided nto a number of compartments connected at the bottom by means of tubes with a collector through which the tan liquor under pressure is conveyed.

The compartments of each plate pair are identical and placed opposite to each other, so that when the plates are pressed against each other, after the hide has been placed between them, the tan liquor acts under pressure on a number of skin sections, each corresponding to the opening of said compartment, on both sides of the skin moreover the compartments of the series of plate pairs are arranged in such a manner that when the hide leaves the last plate pair, all its surface has been submitted to the action of the tan liquor under pressure and is therefore completely tanned.

In the constructional form shown in Figs.

1 to 5, 1 is the machine frame carrying the three successive lower plates 2, 3 and 4, provided with compartments 5, 6 and 7 respectively. The corresponding upper plates 2 3 4 (in which are provided the compartments 5 6 7 identical and superposed to those of the lower plates) may be displaced vertically along guides provided in the machine'frame, in order that the hide may be introduced and secured between the plates.

This vertical displacement is obtained, in the form illustrated, by means of screws 15, the lower ends of which engage, in corresponding threaded recesses provided in the rib 14, while their upper ends project through smooth bores in the frame to prevent axial displacement and are fixed in the 110 bevel. wheels 16 journaled on the frame 1.

. the free space between the plates through ceding or following plate pairs. d

een sai consists further in causing the liquor. under type closing the outlet end of the tubes 10 pressure on the other side of 't e submitted to the action of the solution stop will hold the frame in the exact position. The upper plates are then low4red and a freshsection of the hide is pressed between the plates 2 and 2 whilethe sectQon before treated remains between the plates 3 and 3 the valves admitting the solution under pressure in the compartments of said plates are then-"opened. By a similar. operation the frame is again displaced, so that the first section of the hide will come between the plates 4, 4 the second section between the plates 2, 2 and the tan liquor under pressure will be caused to act in a similar man- 4, 4 ner. The size of the plates will be suitably The tan liquor is conveyed under pressure chosen, so that each of them comprises one in the. tubes gi and 8 from which through third of the length of the entire hide; thus, the collectors 9"and 9 it reaches the tubes when the tan llquor conveyed to the com- 10 and 10 and the several compartments partments of the plates 4, 4 will be caused (Fig. 3). The. hide 11, after having been I to act (in this operation all the three plate placed on a frame 12 and stretched by means I airs will work), one third of the. hide will of hooked flat strips 13, is introduced bee cdmpletely tanned and two thirds partly tween the first plate pair 2, 2 (Fig. 2) while tanned; b effecting then the displacement the late 2 is maintained raised and the of the hi e to complete the tannage of the ban 0 erated taps 8 of known construction second section, the first plate pair will be with which the tubes 8 and 8 must be proreleased and the first third of a fresh hide vided are turned off. Evidently the width to be treated (stretched on a frame as above of the different plates must be such as to describedlwill be introduced between them. prevent any hide under treatment to escape All arts of the. machine will thus work from the compartment surface of the plates. .s1 mu taneously and continually giving a The plate 2 is then lowered as above 'deh1 h efficiency.

scribed, until the hide is well pressed between it and the lower stationary plate 2 with and the h1de laid'betweenvthe plates he frame may of course be dispensed (Fig. 3); the tube taps 8 and 8 are then by'hand or by any suitable means; itwill turned on. As the hide is of irregular form, then be possible to it cannot cover all the compartments of the the machine close t each o her in order to plates between which it is pressed-and the avoid all inte uption of the compartmen s.

tan liquor would'therefore escape freely into; (5118 P r Wi h regard o ose of the prethe compartments which are, not covered hlS nning process, as it has the hide (see the compartments on' the le 4 side of Fi 3) and'could not therefore be pressure to act only on one s1de of theliide, maintain t, the requi ed pressure in the" while on the other slde a vacuum s simulother com artments in which it must act 1551180118137 produced- There y .a great raon the hi e. In order to prevent this inpidity of tannageis obtained, as the vacuum convenience taking place, it will be suflicient PI 011 01198156 0? the h dr ws h to provide an automatic valve of any known tan liquor, that "acts slmultaneousl 1 19131 1 e in the compartments that are not covered through its p f by the hide; in the example shown said valve is constituted by a ball 20. invention may be very well carried on b In Fig. 4 I have shown in dotted lines in the above described machine it will be su the successive plates 3 and 4 the parts of ficientto modify the automatic closing'valve during the operation effected in the recedpartments. ing p ates; it is evident that the hi e leav- In'Fig. 6 is. re resented ing the last slate pair 4, 4 will be thorof the automatic all closin' device 20'illusoulfily tanne I trated in Fig. 3-; each-bal '20 is provided e tannage of the hide section 11 com-- effected in a fewminutea'the taps of the] for the upper plates. In this ay the tubes 8 and 8? are turned oil, the plate-2 machine will work either by conveymg the is raised (this latter being guided 1n, order solution under pressure tothe upper part f to" allow its linear adjustment) until thehide and producing a vacuum at thelower part section that has been previously treated will or by producmg a vacuumabove and concome between the'plates 3 and 3; asuifableveyi'n'g the solution below.

.The process forming theobject of the.

I with a seat 21 on the left handandafseat prised between the plates 2, 2? having been 22 on the'right hand for the lower as well' the hide surface that have not been treated of the outlet end of the tubes 10 in t 'f In the modified form shown at Fig. 7, is illustrated a new automatic device for closing the compartments between which there is not the hide and opening those between which the hide is inclosed, when the machine has to work with the solution under pressure in the compartments of the upper plates and a vacuum in the compartments oi the lower plates. 4 The device is constituted by a ball 23 that may slide in the chamber 39 and is connected by means of a rod with a smaller lower ball 25, when the upper plates are lowered on the lower ones, the balls 23 (that remain by gravity on their seats 28 disconnecting thus the tubes 10- :trom the corresponding compartments) are raised only in the case that the hide closes the corresponding compart ments, this raising action being effected by Y the hide itself, while where there is not thehide the balls 28 remain on their seats and close by means of the small ball 25 carried by their rod 24, the seats :29 connecting the lower compartments with the suction pipes 10. By opening the tap of the solution under pressure and that of the suction pipes the balls 23 and 25 will remain on their seats, thus insuring a tight closure, while the seats will remain fully opened where the hide is interposed between the compartments.

In order to insure the closure of the seats 29 for hides of any thickness, I may use, the arrangement shown in Fig. 8, in which the rod 24 may slide in a flange 26 of the ball 23 and is under the action of a spring 27.

What I claim is:

1. The method of tanning hides which comprises protecting portions of the hide and simultaneously tanning the unprotected portions thereof, exposing the previously protected portions and tanning the same.

2. The method of tanning hides which comprises isolating portions of the hide and subjecting such portions to a tanning solution, and subsequently tanning the untanned portions.

3. An apparatus for tanning hides, comprising clamping plates having recesses in their opposing faces forming compartments for the reception of portions of the hides, said compartments being arranged to suc-. cessively receive different portions of the hide during its movement through the apparatus. I

4. An apparatus prising a plurality of pairs of clamping plates having. recesses in their opposing faces forming compartments for the reception of portions of the hide, the compartfor tanning hides, com-.

ments of one pair of plates being arranged in staggered relation to the compartments of an adjacent pair of plates for the purpose specified.

5. An apparatus for tanning'hides, comprising a plurality of pairs of.clamping plates having recesses in their opposing faces forming-compartments for the reception of portions of'the hide, the compartments of one pair of plates being out of longitudinal alinement with the compartments ofan adjacent pair of plates, whereby different longitudinal portions of a hide may be tanned simultaneously.

6. In an apparatus for tanning hides, a

pair of plates, each plate having a plurality of compartments cotiperating to form a series of separate chambers for containing portions of the hide, means for supplying a tanning solution to said chambers, and means brought into operation by the presence of hide in the chambers for controlling the operation of said supplying means.

. 7. In an apparatus for tanning hides, a

pair of plates, each plate having a plurality of compartments coiiperating to form a series of separate chambers for,- containing portions of the hide, means for supplying a tanning solution to said chambers on one side of the hide, means for creating a vacuum in said chambers on the other side of the hide, and means brought into operation by the presence of hide in the chambers for controlling the operation of the supplying means, and means for creating a vacuum.

8. In an apparatus for tanning hides, a

pair of plates, each plate having a plurality.

of compartments cooperating to form a series of separate chambers for containing portions of the hides, conduits communicating with'the compartments, and valves for opening and closing said conduits automatically operated by the closure of the compartments by the hide to open the conduits.

9. In an apparatus for tanning hides, a pair of plates, each plate having a plurality of compartments cooperating to form a series of separate chambers for containing portions of the hide, conduits for supplying a tanning solution to the compartments of one of the plates, means connected with the compartments of the other plate for creating a vacuum, and means brought into i operation by the closure of the compartments by the hide whereby the tanning solu-. 

